Huw Lloyd-Langton recently debuted a revamped Lloyd-Langton Group at Hawkwind's Psychedelic Sundae bash on May 2nd. They've recorded a new LLG album, to be released on 27/08/2010 and titled "Hard Graft". Full details are available on the press release kindly provided by none other than Marion Lloyd-Langton. Cheers!
Under the heading "Space Mavericks", the BBC reported that 'Space rock band Hawkwind will be honoured with the 2010 Mojo maverick award. "Despite the fact that they have rarely flirted with the mainstream, their music and their attitude has inspired so many different areas of modern music," said Mojo's editor-in-chief, Phil Alexander.'
Hawkwind's brand new studio album, their first since 2005's Take Me To Your Leader, is called Blood
Of The Earth and is released on June 21st, 2010 by Eastworld Recordings...Details here and sound samples can be heard here
Now officially confirmed, Hawkfest 2010 will be held on the Isle of Wight on 27th–29th August. Tickets, costing £73 each, are available from http://www.hawkfest.com. The band also mention that "In order to secure the use of this iconic site which is in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty we have agreed to make a substantial donation to local charities, so would ask all ticket holders to contribute £2 (or more!) on entry to the site.".
Well, it was actually announced officially a week ago to be honest :-) There is going to be a Hawkfest in 2010, and it continues the theme of, and closes out, Hawkwind's 40th year of existence. Their first major festival was on the Isle of Wight in August 1970, and 40 years on they are going back to Afton Down on the island to put on a 5th Hawkfest. It will be over the August Bank Holiday weekend (Friday 27th to Monday 30th August) - more details to follow...
Continuing the revival of Robert Calvert's written work, there will be further performances of two of his plays in the coming weeks. It starts with three performances of The Stars That Play With Laughing Sam's Dice on 7, 8 and 9 March by Pentameters Theatre :
- Saturday 7 March at 2.00p.m. at Pentameters Theatre, Hampstead, London.
- Sunday 8 March at the Roundhouse, Chalk Farm, London at 6.30p.m., as part of the Barney Bubbles
memorial event [which is to say, Nik Turner's show under the Hawklords name]....Barney designed
the set for the first production of The Stars at Pentameters in 1976.
- Monday 9 March at 8.00p.m. at Pentameters Theatre.
Then, in May, as part of the Brighton Festival, the newly formed Iambic Arts Theatre will be staging two of Robert's plays from Thursday 7 to Saturday 10 May: Cattle at Twilight and The Stars That Play With Laughing Sam's Dice
Full details can be found on the appropriate websites given above.
Record Collector magazine's March issue 360 (in the shops Thursday 12th February) features a major Hawkwind and Space Rock cover and article...
“We were electronic Barbarians!” – Dave Brock, Hawkwind co-founder
Silver Machines and Iron Dreams! Those Psychedelic Warlords Hawkwind and their respective offshoots have been so prolific that it seems reissues have been soaring our way since the edge of time began. To celebrate 40 years of the group’s existence, RC had a pow-wow with Hawklords Dave Brock, Nik Turner, Michael Moorcock and co, who took us through some of the rarest Hawkwind releases commanding prices up to £400. If that’s not enough astounding sounds and amazing music, we give you another 40 space rock rarities. Set controls for the heart of the stunned!
Record Collector can be bought at WHSmiths, Borders, good newsagents, large supermarkets, independent record shops and online (even after it has gone off sale in the shops) at http://www.recordcollectormag.com
In a surprise move, Hawkwind have sort-of replaced Jason Stuart with...a guitarist. Niall Hone was formerly a member of Tribe Of Cro and you might say he is a bit of an Alex Lifeson lookalike... The current setup, with two guitars and Tim Blake on synths echoes the 1979 tour programme's estimation of the band's potential as "loose yet strong". The December tour promises to be even more intriguing than expected, as a result. They never do the obvious things, do they?
Because of the success of the run of Robert's plays "Cattle at Twilight" and "The Stars That Play ..." at Pentameters Theatre in Hampstead last month and at the Robert Calvert memorial concert in Herne Bay, as part of Pentameters' 40th anniversary, the theatre is producing Robert's play "Mirror Mirror" for two weeks starting a week on Tuesday, 28 October. This is a funny and futuristic play, originally written for Helen Mirren in 1979. PS Cattle at Twilight is getting another run along with it...
Hawkwind's keyboard player Jason Stuart was rushed to hospital on Friday 5th September, with an aneurysm which unfortunately lodged in his brain and caused a haemorrhage. Tragically, doctors were unable to save him and Jason died earlier today. He was only 39 years of age.
This is without a doubt the saddest and most shocking news to have hit the band in many years. A Condolence Book has been placed on the Hawkwind Forum. R.I.P. Jason
On the 29/08/08 'Dawn of Metal' episode of Chicago Public Radio's 'Sound Opionions' show, Chicago-based author and rock critic Jim DeRogatis cited Silver Machine as the "first heavy metal song." This was accompanied by a brief description of Hawkwind and an excerpt of Silver Machine was played. The Hawkwind reference starts at 15:40 and the show is available to stream and for download
The Pentameters Theatre in Hampstead celebrates its.40th anniversary, and honours the 20th anniversary of Robert Calvert's passing, by staging a double bill of two of Robert's one-act plays, Cattle at Twilight and The Stars that Play with Laughing Sam's Dice. The latter has been staged before, but this will be the premiere of Cattle at Twilight, which conjures a meeting between Noel Coward and Jimi Hendrix in the
It was twenty years ago today...that Bob Calvert died of a heart attack at his home. A memorial concert takes place at the Kings Hall in Herne Bay, Kent on Sunday 28/09/2008. This includes a fan convention from 3pm onwards, with the show starting at 8pm: Nik Turner and friends playing the music of Robert Calvert featuring Nik Turner, Harvey Bainbridge, Martin Griffin, Steve Swindells, Adrian Shaw, Ron Tree, Alan Davey, Jerry Richards and Nick Calvert. Full details of the day and a poster (above) are on Nik's site, and tickets (£9.00) are available here
I have a Cherry Red Records press release confirming the reissue of the 76-97 Hawkwind back catalogue. The exact same copy is also on the newly created Atomhenge Records website...
News has leaked out that Cherry Red Records have acquired the right to reissue the entire Hawkwind back catalogue spanning the years 1976 through 1997. The full detail can be found here (reproduced from information emailed out by CD Services). However, an official press release is still awaited...
See below for the flyer advertising the event. Tickets can still be obtained by Hawkwind Passport Holders from Mission Control and you won't find a better value festival anywhere at £60 for three days (kids free!) quite apart from the fact that the world's best rock band are headlining it. Some of the other bands playing are what you might call "the usual suspects", with Bruise (not Briuse!), Relentless, Tribe of Cro, Tarantism etc. all being Hawkfest veterans and none the less still very welcome additions. The Hawkwind-Friends-and-Relations theme continues wiith Tim Blake, Huw Lloyd-Langton T.O.S.H. and Spacehead being part of it. And as always there are intriguing new additions such as Wind of Change, led by the mighty Hawklord of Shields, and The Starfighters, Bob Calvert's last band. Throw in a host of other attractions like the worskhops etc. (see flyer) and the value for money becomes apparent. But what the flyer can't convey is the amazing 'free festival' atmosphere of the occasion (though this year's superior facilities are well above what you'd expect to find find at any festival, commercial or free, I'm told).
The Spirit still lives in all of our hearts, and where else can you commune with so many fellow loonies, eh? I'm travelling from 5,000 miles away to come to this, so you lazy gits who are only at the other end of a motorway (yes I mean you, Ali) have no excuse. So buy your tickets now because who knows when or if the chance will come again... See you there :-)
John Perrin, who was a member of Liquid Len and the Lensmen, and subsequently Hawkwind's lighting technician in his own right on the 1979 UK winter tour, has died. Click here to read his obituary. R.I.P.
It's on Mission Control and so it's official...the band have relaxed their ban on audience trading. Plus, they've also announced a handful of UK dates for March 2008, one of which is to replace the Manchester Academy gig that was just cancelled at very short notice (by the venue). More dates may be added!
Another reissue on CD that promises to surpass the original vinyl - this one is a complete unexpurgated version of Greasy Truckers, due for release on 15/10/2007. Much of this Hawkwind has never been available previously. Details are over at the Freak Emporium website....
Voiceprint have just announced that they are releasing Bob Calvert's Centigrade 232 poetry as a book/CD in October, in a limited edition of 500 copies. Click here to see details and to pre-order
Voiceprint have set up a special website to sell the Brock / Calvert Project CD, which consists of the former's synths providing a backdrop to the latter's spoken-word readings of some of his own poetry. (See the most recent album Take Me To Your Future for a preview.) There will apparently be only 1,000 copies available and only from that website. It costs £12.99 plus P&P
Lots of new things over at the band's official Hawkwind.com website... The annual Christmas London date is confirmed, there's a new online shop and a new media page with a video clip from the recent Devon gig. The band are also canvassing fan's opinions on the idea of doing a mini-Hawkfest in Amsterdam!!
Shamelessly filched from the new Hawkwind.com website....well done Dave!..... Total Rock radio will be interviewing Dave Brock on Saturday 5th May as part of DJ Malcolm Dome's show. Precise time of broadcast TBA.
EMI are reissuing "Space Ritual Alive" in a 2-CD / 1-DVD package in June 2007. However, mention of the DVD is somewhat misleading because the content is high-definition *audio* (5:1 surround sound formats) and not *video*. It seems as though this may be just the first of a number of early-70's titles to be reissued by EMI - they own the rights to everything from Hawkwind (1970) through Hall Of The Mountain Grill (1974) and have previously reissued all of them on CD...
UK fans who get digital channels via satellite / cable will be able to see an hour-long documentary on Hawkwind at 9pm on Friday 30th March 2007. In fact it will be shown several times. Nobody from the present-day line-up has participated in the programme, so let the buyer beware!
Alan Davey has a new solo album coming out at the end of this month, called ‘Human on the Outside’. It can be ordered from his website, http://www.alandaveymusic.co.uk which is well worth checking out for this and a load of Bedouin-related content: all the pages from the original Bedouin website live on at Alan’s new site, along with links to order currently available Bedouin recordings from Voiceprint…
Go to http://www.hawkfest2007.com to buy tickets by credit (or debit) card. The site has full details of the where, the when and the how (there's a map, details of public transport may follow...) It's £63 per ticket inclusive of the booking fee, and there's an overall attendance limit of 1,000 so do not delay your purchase! You can also purchase by cheque, which is very slightly cheaper. Full details are at the Hawkfest 2007 website
New label Eclectic Discs have lined up for release (on January 29th 2007) Nik Turner's Xitintoday, plus Bob Calvert's Captain Lockheed and the Starfighters and Lucky Leif and the Longships. These CD's have been repackaged and remastered, with bonus tracks, and will also be available for download from emi.com for the Calvert albums, and from iTunes for the Nik Turner title.
In these days of widespread piracy of Hawkwind and related material, I was initially sceptical about the legitmacy of these releases. But no less a personage than Uncle Nik Turner (whom I contacted) vouches for these releases as being fully authorised - so there you go!
Purchaseable by cheque now and by credit card soon, Hawkwind's Official Myspace page (20/11/06 blog entry) carries details of tickets for next year's Hawkfest. They're £60 each and there's an attendance limit of 1,000 - the venue is Castle Donington in Derbyshire, UK (of course)...on the weekend of 15th-17th June 2007.
Hawkwind Passport Holders can now buy their tickets for the private filming of a DVD at The Face of Steel at Magna in Rotherham on 18th Dec 2006 - go to http://www.hawkwindmagnagig.co.uk to do so. If you've already prebooked, all you have to do is pay. If you didn't prebook, there are a few tickets still left for purchase, but you'll need to move quickly to get any of them. For full details, see the 15/09/06 blog entry on Hawkwind's Official Myspace page
The very excellent Planet Gong website carries full details of a new title "Gong In The 70s", which has been released as a benefit for Tim Blake, who is facing a possible jail sentence in France after a terrible car crash in which Tim himself was badly injured. There isn't space for me to go into the ins and outs of the case here, but my personal view is that the French legal system may be about to wreak a weighty revenge on Tim for having long hair and being English - in this day and age. Anyway, the album consists of all 'new' (as in previously unheard) Gong recordings by the band's strongest lineup, recorded in 1972-73- this is a must-have, as well as benefitting the worthiest of causes. It's also available direct from Voiceprint
It seems that the London Astoria has been sold by the former owners (who'd leased it to the Mean Fiddler through 2008) to a property developer. The latter plan to demolish the Astoria and replace it with flats for the 2012 Olympics. The Astoria is probably the last mainline venue in London that embraces alternative culture and, of course, has a significance for Hawkwind fans. Please check out the following links and sign the petiton if you want to...
http://www.petitiononline.com/savethea
http://www.savetheastoria.org
http://www.myspace.com/savingtheastoria
Thanks!
The 14/09/06 blog entry on Hawkwind's Official Myspace page invites Hawkwind Passport Holders "to the *private* filming of a DVD at The Face of Steel at Magna in Rotherham on 18th Dec 2006." This is going to be a behind-closed-doors gig with a limited number of tickets available to Passport Holders for £25 including a copy of the DVD...
Planet Rock is conducting an online poll with the aim of coming up with a list of the top 50 classic rock albums, by preselected 'most influential' artists - Hawkwind features in the first week and Planet Rock needs you to vote for what you think is Hawkwind's best album. They are only going to include core albums (live and studio). The poll is open now and you have 2 weeks to vote for what you think is Hawkwind's best album. Planet Rock will announce the results in December.
P.S. Take Me to Your Future is now shipping!
Hawkwind's Official Myspace page has been launched, and features exclusive audio clips and band blogs.
On an unrelated note, Take Me to Your Future has suffered further delays - keep your eyes on Mission Control for the latest on when it might appear.
Take Me to Your Future will now be released on 14/08/2007. The delays were due to errors on the test pressing. The band also confirm that there will be a Hawkfest in 2007, taking place on the weekend of 15th-17th June. Venue and all other details to be announced on Mission Control
Take Me to Your Future has been delayed to the end of July; and over on the Space Ritual front, there's been a change of personnel and website. Dave Anderson and John Greves have both left the band with Jerry Richards filling in on bass. Their new website is at http://www.spaceritual.org
Voiceprint's website carries details of Hawkwind’s new mini album "Take Me to Your Future". The Audio side contains a re-working of Uncle Sam’s On Mars, Small Boy (from the Calvert project); The Reality of Poverty; and the Silver Machine 2005 remake with Lemmy. The DVD side will include live footage of Utopia and Hassan-i-Sahba...
Mission Control brings news of a children's book called Kids To Space: A Space Traveler's Guide which comes with a CD-ROM that includes an 18-minute medley called "Space Symphony". This incorporates sections of “The Secret Knowledge of Water” “Uncle Sam’s on Mars” (see news story above) “What’s That Noise?” “Mars - The Journey” and “Out Here We Are”
From Mission Control: Hawkwind’s new mini album "Take Me to Your Future" is released on 10th July 2006, in the new dual-sided CD/DVD format. The CD tracks are all new, and the DVD content is from archival live shows never seen before...
Also, a slew of new Bob Calvert titles are being released by Voiceprint. These include rehearsals ("Rehearsals 1987 - Radio Egypt" - released 22/05/2006) and live recordings from Middlesborough ("Middlesborough 1986 - The Right Stuff" - released 22/05/2006), Cardiff ("Cardiff 1988 - Ejection" - released 10/07/2006) and Manchester ("Manchester 1986 - In Vitro Breed" - released 10/07/2006)
Nik Turner contributed to two tracks appearing on The Jalapenos' new title "Proud To Be Loud", which is actually a compilation from 2003's "Tear It Up" and predecessor "Red Hot". Available online or at gigs!
The situation has clarified as regards the new product that's coming down the pipe. First up is Live in Cardiff: due for release on 13/03/2006, apparently featuring a recording from the 8th November 1980 at Cardiff Polytechnic, with a track listing of 1. Levitation, 2. Motorway City, 3. Death Trap, 4. Shot Down In The Night, 5. Fifth Second Of Forever / Dust Of Time, 6. World Of Tiers, 7. Solar Dance, 8. Urban Guerilla, 9. Dangerous Visions, 10. Psi Power, 11. Brainstorm, 12. Return Of The Timelord. This title is being releassed on the hitherto unheard-of 'Days Of Glory' label, and seems to be of French origin: so it's quite likely to be an unauthorised release, perhaps a bootleg. (28/02/06: Mission Control confirms this)
Second is Weird Tapes 108 which at last gets a CD release. This one has some otherwise unobtainable material and is therefore going to be an essential purchase. Release date: 20/03/2006. UK purchasers should be fine getting this directly from Voiceprint, but their dreadful overseas fulfilment company (based in Sweden) cannot be relied upon. Non-UK buyers are recommended to email CD Services or use amazon.co.uk
Last but by no means least, there is a new Hawkwind album being released in late Spring, which has audio on one side (could this include Reality Of Poverty and other material not used on Take Me To Your Leader?) and DVD footage on t'other. This is doubtless what Voiceprint were referring to when announcing a "Hawkwind Audio/Visual Project On The Radar"
Keep your eyes open for a significant development (or two) to be announced shortly. Voiceprint's website tells us there's a "Hawkwind Audio/Visual Project On The Radar" while the band's official website Mission Control says "A major announcement will be made in the next few days!” (in capitals and with extra exclamation marks, no less!)
The UK government's Department for Culture, Media and Sport is sponsoring a project called "Icons - a portrait of England", wherein members of the public can nominate and vote for those things considered to be emblematic of England. Early entries include things like "a cup of tea" and "the double decker bus": nominations of individual people are not accepted but those running the project *have* accepted a nomination of Hawkwind . Please click on the link to review the nomination, and more importantly, vote for it!
This is me, Starfarer if you like. My real name is Steve. I'm English but live in Las Vegas in the USA. I've been a Hawkwind fan since 1975 (when I was 15) and I'm old enough to know better now. I've only managed to see them play live 16 times (so far), which isn't that much really...and thanks to immersing myself in Hawkwind for the last few years I have to admit to not really looking this normal any more, either.
This site is intended to provide Hawkwind stuff that isn't anywhere else, so I haven't included any discography or band line-ups, which have been done better elsewhere. Some of the content here did originate elsewhere, but only because it wasn't easily accessible, e.g. Weird CD reviews appeared on the BOC-L mailing list some time ago. Generally I would rather provide a link to other sites where they have something worth seeing. (I do filch photos of Dave Brock's guitars, though: and images for the T-shirt pages: and if I find an isolated Hawkwind photo with nothing else of interest on that site, I might pinch that also...)
I know little about web development and don't give a stuff anyway. This site is basic and will probably stay that way. Links are blue, text is yellow. New entries are in Red. Editorial comments are in Cyan (light blue). All pages are accessed from the Home page. There are links back to the Home page and other menu pages from each content page - or use the Back button on your browser. In fact the Back button is better.
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